'Brahmins profiteering': Donald Trump's trade adviser's latest jibe at India over Russian oil; BJP hits back
US President Donald Trump’s advisor Peter Navarro renewed his criticism of India, accusing the country of indirectly funding Russia’s war in Ukraine through discounted oil purchases—and claiming that Brahmins are profiting at the expense of Indians.
“Look, Modi’s a great leader. I don’t understand why he’s getting into bed with Putin and Xi Jinping when he’s the biggest democracy in the world. So I would just simply say to the Indian people: please, understand what’s going on here. You’ve got Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people. We need that to stop. Yeah, and we’ll be watching that closely,” he said during an interview with Fox News.
Defending the US stance after he was questioned on justification for 50% tariffs on India, Navarro further said, “Before Putin invaded Ukraine, India didn’t buy Russian oil to speak of—very, very small amounts. What happened? Now, Russian refiners provide discounts, India refines it, and then sells it at a premium to Europe, Africa, and Asia. It fuels the Russian war machine.”
Additionally, the Trump aide revived his “laundromat for the Kremlin” jibe at India, arguing that American taxpayers are indirectly funding Ukrainian defense as a result. He also highlighted India’s high domestic tariffs: “25% of the 50% is because India is the Maharaja of tariffs. They have the highest tariffs in the world. They won’t let us sell to them. So who gets hurt? Workers in America, taxpayers in America, Ukrainians in cities getting killed by Russian drones.”
On China, Navarro remained optimistic about ongoing trade negotiations, noting that the US maintains tariffs exceeding 50 per cent. He said the November 10 deadline is realistic, describing high tariffs as “a good thing” for US leverage.
Navarro has made multiple jabs at India as the latter refuses to budge on ceasing trade with Russia which included calling the Russia-Ukraine war – “Modi’s war”, “Kremlin’s laundromat” and accused them of fueling the Ukraine war for profit.
‘Modi’s war’
The Trump administration, earlier this month, ramped up attacks on India for buying Russian oil, with Navarro characterizing the Russia-Ukraine conflict as “Modi’s war,” and cautioning New Delhi about getting close to Beijing and Moscow.
“India, you’re the biggest democracy in the world, okay? Act like one… side with the democracies…(instead) you’re getting in bed with the authoritarians,” Navarro had said, just hours after 50% tariffs on India went into effect.
‘Laundromat for Kremlin’
Navarro’s ‘laundromat’ remark has been made by Navarro in the past as well. “Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian oil made up less than 1% of India’s imports. Today? Over 30% — more than 1.5 million barrels a day. This surge isn’t driven by domestic demand—it’s driven by Indian profiteers and carries an added price of blood and devastation in Ukraine,” he had said.
“India’s Big Oil lobby has turned the largest democracy in the world into a massive refining hub and oil money laundromat for the Kremlin,” he claimed, adding that India now exports more than 1 million barrels a day in refined petroleum, over half of the Russian crude it imports.
Read more: From ‘Modi’s war’ to ‘Kremlin’s laundromat’, invectives pile up
‘Using our dollars to buy Russian oil’
Navarro in another attack on India, accused New Delhi of using American trade dollars to finance Russia’s war in Ukraine. Justifying Washington’s newly imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports, Navarro said that Indian refiners, working with “silent Russian partners,” were making huge profits by refining Russian oil and selling it in international markets while “Russia pockets hard currency to fund its war on Ukraine.”
In a post on X, Navarro said, “India uses our dollars to buy discounted Russian crude. This isn’t just about India’s unfair trade—it’s about cutting off the financial lifeline India has extended to Putin’s war machine.”
Also read: Navarro attacks India again; takes ‘laundromat’ jibe
‘Factually wrong, culturally insensitive, and out of context’
BJP MP Dinesh Sharma slammed Navarro for his ‘Brahmin’ remarks and said that the statement is factually wrong, culturally insensitive, and out of context in terms of India’s economic decisions.
This is pertinent to mention that it is the BJP’s first reaction to the remarks.
BJP MP Dinesh Sharma said, “I think Samajwadi Party’s statements have made an impact in the US too…Peter Navarro’s statement on Brahmins is factually wrong, culturally insensitive, and out of context in terms of India’s economic decisions…His statement appears to be an attempt to flare tensions in India-US relations….”
” The PM’s visit to Japan and China was most successful. You should see the facts he presented, his style, and how major nations were standing with India…The US should rethink what it had said….” he added.
Pawan Khera slams Navarro for his ‘Brahmin’ remarks; calls it ‘baseless’
Navarro’s statement ignited backlash not only from BJP but also from the opposition in India. Congress leader Pawan Khera criticised Navarro’s “Brahmin” remark to justify US tariffs on India, and called it “baseless.”
Speaking to ANI, Pawan Khera said, “America should not make baseless statements like this.”
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose said that the term “Brahmin” is used to describe the social or economic “elites” in Britain.
She further mentioned that the term “Boston Brahmin” was once used in the US, referring to the wealthy elite of New England.
“‘Boston Brahmin’ was once a widely used term in the US to refer to the American New England wealthy elite. “Brahmin” is still a term used in the English-speaking world to denote social or economic “elites” (in this case the rich). The illiteracy on X is astonishing,” the ‘X’ post said.
Indian economist and member of the PM’s economic advisory council, Sanjeev Sanyal slammed Navarro and saidthat his remarks tells a lot about who controls narratives about India and Hindus inside the policy/intellectual spaces of America.
“This latest jibe from Navarro – that “Brahmins are profiteering” from Russian oil – tells us a lot about who controls narratives about India and Hindus inside the policy/intellectual spaces of America. This is derived directly from 19th century colonial jibes going back to the likes of James Mill. Edward Said’s point about Orientalism is perhaps more correct for India than his original thesis on Middle East,” Sanyal wrote on ‘X’.